The Next ‘24’ Reboot Might Be a Legal Thriller With a Female Lead

Failure of the Jack Bauer-less 24: Legacy left FOX open to a complete overhaul of the franchise, and we may now be hearing that clock’s first tick. Reports suggest the next attempt at a 24 revival might ditch international action for a courtroom setting, and feature a female lead.

Deadline reports that FOX has begun development of a new 24 iteration that “centers on a female prosecutor who uncovers a legal conspiracy and has to work against the clock to save a death row inmate facing imminent execution whom she had helped prosecute but may be innocent.” The idea is apparently in keeping with a previous 24 anthology concept, and might only serve as the premise for a single season.

The new series has a script commitment with The Killing writer-producer Jeremy Doner, as executive produced by franchise mainstays Howard Gordon and Imagine’s Brian Grazer. Back in August, FOX boss David Madden said of the idea “[it] will have the same urgency but may not be set in the CTU, it will have same style and urgency but in a different venue.”

There are any number of reasons 24: Legacy may not have renewed the franchise, but – absent Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer – is a complete revamp with a new concept the right move? Should FOX stick to a new 24 each season, or follow the legal version further?